Medical diagnostic imaging apparatuses configured to collect information on the interior of an examinee, and to create a medical image by generating an image of the interior of the examinee based on the collected information have been used in recent years. Such medical diagnostic imaging apparatuses include, for example, an X-ray CT (computed tomography) apparatus, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus, a PET (positron-emission tomography) apparatus, and the like.
In order to be able to successively collect information on the interior of the entire body of an examinee, these medical diagnosis apparatus are configured such that a table on which an examinee lies down can slide from a bed device toward a gantry by, for example, about 2000 mm. However, this table is often supported only by the bed device. Accordingly, as the table slides more, the height of an unsupported end of the table might become lower than the height of the other end of the table which is supported by the bed device, in other words, the table might bow. Such bowing of the table causes a shift of the vertical center at a scan point. This shift largely affects the quality of an image obtained.
The invention described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 5-317306 copes with such a shift by increasing the positions at which the table is supported. Further, the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 9-056711 copes with the shift by providing a support member inside the tunnel-shaped gantry at a position where the table exits from the inside of the gantry.
Although the inventions described in Japanese Patent Application Publications Nos. Hei 5-317306 and Hei 9-056711 are both provided with a support portion for the table in addition to the bed device, the support portion is provided at a position after the exit where the table exits from the inside of the gantry. Accordingly, the table still has to be supported by the bed device until that position, and it is difficult to solve the problem of the bowing of the table (shift in the image) at the scan point inside the gantry (such a point is called an “X-ray path” below). A conceivable method for solving the bowing of the table with such a configuration is, for example, to enhance the strength of the table by increasing the thickness of the table.
To perform imaging to obtain interior information on an organ, such as a heart, which is offset from the body axis of an examinee, the table enters the inside of the gantry while being shifted in the width direction of the examinee according to the position to be imaged. To support the table in such a case, a support mechanism has to have a large structure, and this might be unfavorable in view of the installation space and operability.